JP2002357385A - Constitution of vegetable chamber of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a constitution of a vegetable chamber of a refrigerator which prevents rotting of vegetables due to dripping of dew water and enables long-time preservation thereof also in a structure wherein the closeness of the inside of a vegetable vessel is enhanced so as to keep the internal humidity high. SOLUTION: In regard to the constitution of the vegetable chamber which is provided in a part in a storage chamber and wherein a holding vessel (11) put in a substantially closed-up state by closing a door is installed, a plate (19) of good thermal conduction is provided in a part of a holding space constituting the vegetable chamber (6), while the outside of the plate is made a cold circulation passage (20), and a water receiving tray (23) is provided on the lower side of the plate (19).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vegetable compartment of a refrigerator, and more particularly to a humidity control device for a vegetable compartment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to maintain the freshness of stored items such as vegetables stored in a vegetable room of a refrigerator for a long period of time, it is necessary to keep the humidity in the container storing the vegetables high.

[0003] In order to maintain the inside of the container at high humidity, it is sufficient to increase the degree of sealing. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of configurations in which the vegetable compartment is made independent as a drawer, and a lid is provided at the opening on the upper surface to seal the container. In this case, the degree of sealing is increased, and moisture evaporating from the stored vegetables themselves causes the humidity in the container to become excessively high and becomes saturated, resulting in dripping on the wall surface of the storage container, and The contact sometimes caused a problem that leaves of leaf vegetables and the like rotted.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of this point. Even in a structure in which the degree of airtightness inside a vegetable container is increased to keep the inside humidity high, dew condensation water is also present. It is intended to provide a vegetable compartment configuration of a refrigerator that can be stored for a long time without causing the vegetables to rot due to dripping.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a refrigerator according to the present invention is provided with a vegetable compartment having a storage container provided in a part of a storage room and substantially closed by a closed door. In the room configuration, a good heat conducting plate is provided in a part of the storage space constituting the vegetable room, a cold air circulation passage is provided outside thereof, and a water receiving tray is provided below the good heat conducting plate. Things.

With this configuration, the inside of the vegetable storage container can be maintained at a high humidity, and even when the humidity is saturated, excess moisture is condensed on the good heat conducting plate, and even if there is dripping of the condensed water. Since the vegetables can be stored in the water tray, the vegetables and the like do not come into contact with the dew condensation water and rot, and the inside of the vegetable container can be kept at a high humidity.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a cover body having a large number of ventilation holes is provided on the inner surface side of the storage container near the good heat conducting plate. Excessive water is guided through the ventilation hole to the good heat conductive plate to cause dew condensation without bringing vegetables into contact with dew condensation water, and when the humidity in the container drops, moisture is reduced from the good heat conductive plate portion into the container through the through hole By doing so, accurate humidity control can be performed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a flow of a circulating cold air flow is reversed during a cooling operation by driving a cooler for cooling a refrigerated storage space and a blower fan for circulating cool air by the cooling and during a non-cooling operation. The frost on the surface of the cooler is efficiently melted and removed from inside and outside by using the cooler for cooling and the ventilation, and the condensation of the good heat conductive plate by the relatively high temperature cold air. It is possible to evaporate the water and the dew condensation collected in the water receiving tray, and further contribute to the maintenance of the humidity in the vegetable compartment and the refrigerator compartment by evaporation of the dew condensation, thereby preventing the drying of the stored items.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that a large number of small holes are provided in the good heat conducting plate, and by the action of the small holes and the cool air on the side of the circulation duct, the evaporation of the condensed water is promoted. Since the holes are holes, there is little intrusion of the circulating cold air into the vegetable container and there is little movement of moisture outside the container, so that influences such as a decrease in humidity inside the vegetable container are reduced.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the water receiving tray located at the lower end of the good heat conducting plate is formed integrally with the good heat conducting plate. It is possible to obtain a humidity control structure for a vegetable room.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a refrigerator (1) provided with a plurality of doors, in which a storage space is formed by an inner box (4) provided through a heat insulating material (3) inside an outer box (2). A plurality of storage rooms (5) (6) with heat insulating partition walls
(7). (5) is a refrigerating room arranged at the upper part of the main body. The refrigerating room door (8) is pivotally supported to one side of the main body by a hinge device (not shown) so as to be rotatable. It is closed.

At the lower part of the refrigerator compartment (5), a vegetable compartment (6) provided with a container (11) for storing vegetables and the like is formed via a partition plate (9). Since the temperature of the vegetable compartment (6) is basically almost the same as that of the refrigerator compartment (5), the partition plate (9) does not require a heat insulating structure, and is simply a refrigerator compartment (5) and a vegetable compartment (6). ) Is formed of a transparent plate or the like that performs a partitioning action with the above.

Below the vegetable compartment (6), there is a heat insulating partition (1).
0), a freezing room (7) for storing frozen food and storing it at -18 ° C or lower is arranged.

On the back of the vegetable compartment (6) and the freezing compartment (7), a refrigerator (12) and a refrigerator (13) for cooling the storage compartments of the refrigerator temperature zone and the freezing temperature zone respectively. ). Each of these coolers (12) (1
The cool air cooled by 3) is blown and circulated to the respective storage rooms by the blower fans (14) and (15) arranged above the respective coolers, and the respective rooms are cooled and maintained at a predetermined temperature for freezing or refrigeration. Is controlled to be.

The vegetable compartment (6) for storing and preserving vegetables has its front opening closed by a vegetable compartment door (16) as shown in FIG.
A pair of left and right support frames (not shown) extending in the depth direction inside the refrigerator attached to the inside of 6) support a vegetable container (11) having an open upper side for storing and storing vegetables, and arranged in the vegetable compartment (6). ing.

The support frame is formed so as to slide on the rail when the vegetable compartment door (16) is pulled out by engagement with a not-shown inner side wall rail. With the above configuration, the vegetable room door (1
When the door is opened in step 6), the vegetable container (11) is pulled out with the door being pulled out, and is closed and stored in the vegetable compartment (6).

In the vegetable container (11), an upper container (17) is separately provided above the inside thereof, and a canopy (18) is provided on the upper surface of each of the containers (11) and (17). By attaching to the partition plate (9) side and closing the vegetable compartment door (16), the canopy (18) is located on the upper surface of the vegetable container (11) to cover the opening of the container. ,
The inside of the container (11) is kept closed.

(19) A good heat conducting material such as an aluminum plate which is disposed on the back of the vegetable container (11) and is substantially integrated with the vegetable container main body formed of a synthetic resin to form a back wall portion thereof. It is a back plate consisting of a plate and a vegetable container (1
It is provided facing the refrigeration cooler (12) and the circulation duct (20) for cool air from the blower fan (14) installed on the back side of 1).

A back plate (1) is provided on the inner side of the back plate (19).
9) and a small gap is formed to form a large number of ventilation holes (22).
Is provided, and a water receiving tray (23) is provided below the gap between the cover body (21) and the back plate (19).

In the water receiving tray (23), since the back plate (19) is formed of a good heat conducting plate such as aluminum, the lower edge of the back plate (19) is bent downward and extended. It may be formed integrally.

The back plate (19) and the water tray (23) may be detachable from the vegetable container (11), for example, so that the water tray (23) can be removed from the container part. It can be washed at any time and can be used hygienically.

Each of the storage compartments is cooled by a refrigeration cycle (not shown) by which the refrigerant from the compressor is cooled.
2) and the freezing cooler (13) are alternately flown to cool each cooler, and this cool air is supplied to each storage room by the blower fans (14) and (15) for each cooler to reach a predetermined temperature. It controls cooling.

Then, a refrigerator cooler (12) is provided from the compressor.
In the cooling operation mode on the refrigeration side such as a refrigerator room or a vegetable room for supplying a refrigerant to the side, the cool air cooled by the chiller (12) is cooled by the blower fan (14).
0), flows into the refrigerator compartment (5) to cool it, and then, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2, a partition plate (5) between the refrigerator compartment (5) and the vegetable compartment (6). 9) Opening (9)
It is configured to flow from a) into the vegetable compartment (6).

The cool air flowing into the vegetable compartment (6) circulates around the outer periphery of the vegetable container (11), but does not enter the vegetable container (11) by the canopy (18) but enters the back plate (19). After cooling this, a cool air circulation cycle is formed returning to the refrigerator cooler (12).

As described above, the circulating cold air does not enter the vegetable container (11), but is cooled indirectly from the outer periphery thereof, and the back plate (19) is also a good heat conducting plate. The container (11) is kept at an air temperature of about 3 ° C. on average and a high humidity of about 80% by performing a cooling action to prevent outflow of water from stored items such as vegetables.

At this time, the humidity in the vegetable compartment (6) is substantially saturated with the moisture evaporating from the vegetables themselves when the refrigeration temperature zone is not cooled in the alternate cooling operation. Due to the presence of the back plate (19) made of a good heat conducting plate such as an aluminum plate located in the cool air circulation path (20), excess moisture in the vegetable container (11) is reduced by the lowest temperature in the container. Condensation forms on the inner surface of the plate (19), and when there is much moisture, the water flows down the surface of the back plate (19) and is stored in a water tray (23) arranged below.

Although the amount of dew water accumulated in the water receiving tray (23) is extremely small, the cover body (21) prevents vegetables and the like from contacting the accumulated water and reduces the humidity in the vegetable compartment (6). If lower, cover body (21)
The water is made to return to the vegetable compartment again through the large number of ventilation holes (22).

As shown in FIG. 3, the back plate (1)
By providing a number of small holes (24) on the plate surface of (9), a part of the moisture condensed on the back plate (19) can be removed from the back plate (1).
The cold air circulating on the outer surface of 9) is vaporized and absorbed, and can be evaporated without dripping into the water receiving tray (23). In this case, if the diameter of the small hole (24) is made small, the cold air does not enter the vegetable container (11) and the water movement outside the container is small, so that the vegetable container ( 6) The decrease in humidity inside is small.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The configuration shown in FIG. 4 in which the same parts as those of the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals is normally stopped in a mode other than the refrigeration side cooling operation mode in which the refrigerant is supplied to the refrigeration cooler side, that is, in the refrigeration side cooling operation mode. Refrigeration fan (14) is operated in reverse rotation. At this time, the cool air from the blower fan passes through the back plate part (19) from the cooler (12) as shown by the arrow in FIG.
The refrigeration cooler (1) which circulates in the opposite direction through the periphery of 1) to the upper refrigerator compartment side but does not perform the cooling operation.
2) is heated because no refrigerant is supplied, it is efficient to melt and remove frost on the surface of the frosted cooler (12) from inside and outside by blowing air. The high cold air is led to the back plate (19) made of a good heat conductive plate to evaporate the dew condensation on the back plate, and further the water tray (23)
The temperature is also raised to evaporate the accumulated dew water.

Condensation water accumulated in the water receiving tray (23) may be evaporated using a small-capacity heater heat. For example, freezing of a drain port (not shown) provided at the lower portion of the chiller (12) may be used. By extending a heater to prevent water from escaping to the water receiving pan portion (23), the amount of heat is diverted, and the water receiving pan (23) is periodically heated in synchronization with the defrosting operation to promote evaporation. You may.

As a result, a large amount of cold air containing a large amount of water is introduced into the refrigeration storage space by the defrosting of the refrigeration cooler (12) and the evaporation of the dew condensation water in the water receiving tray (23). This contributes to maintaining the humidity of the vegetable room (6), and also makes it possible to increase the humidity of the refrigerator room (5), and to effectively use the water in the storage room to prevent drying of stored items.

[0032]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the inside of the vegetable storage container can be maintained at a high humidity, and even if the humidity becomes saturated, excess moisture is transferred to the good heat conducting plate. Even if dew condensation occurs, and even if there is dripping of the dew condensation water, it can be stored in the water receiving tray, so that the vegetables and the like do not rot by contact with the dew condensation water, and the inside of the vegetable container can be kept at high humidity.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the excess moisture in the vegetable container is guided to the good heat conducting plate through the ventilation hole to cause dew condensation without bringing the vegetables into contact with the dew water by the cover body. When the humidity is lowered, the moisture can be reduced from the good heat conducting plate portion into the container through the through-hole, so that accurate humidity control can be performed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the frost on the surface of the cooler is efficiently melted and removed from the inside and outside of the cooler by using the air blown by the cooler for cooling and the fan, and the cool air having a relatively high temperature is used. Can evaporate the dew water on the good heat conductive plate and the dew water collected in the water tray, and contribute to the maintenance of humidity in the vegetable room and refrigerator compartment by evaporation of the dew water, and prevent drying of stored items Can be.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the action of the cool air on the side of the small holes and the circulation duct promotes the evaporation of the condensed water, and the small holes make it possible to prevent the circulation of the cool air from entering the vegetable container. In addition, since the movement of moisture to the outside of the container is small, the influence of a decrease in humidity inside the vegetable container is reduced.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, an inexpensive and efficient humidity control system for a vegetable room can be obtained by a simple structure with a reduced number of parts.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a refrigerator showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a vegetable compartment showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a vegetable container back plate in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same portion as FIG. 2 showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 refrigeration room, 6 vegetable room, 7 freezer room, 11 vegetable container, 12 refrigerator cooler, 13
... Refrigerator cooler, 14, 15 ... Blower fan, 16 ... Vegetable room door, 18 ... Canopy, 19 ... Backboard, 20 ...
Circulation duct, 21: cover body, 22: vent hole,
23 ... Water tray, 24 ... Small hole,

Claims (5)

[Claims] In a vegetable room configuration provided with a storage container provided in a part of a storage room and substantially closed by a closed door, a good heat conducting plate is provided in a part of a storage space constituting the vegetable room, The refrigerator compartment has a cooling air circulation passage outside thereof and a water receiving tray provided below the good heat conducting plate. 2. The vegetable compartment configuration of a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a cover body provided with a number of ventilation holes is provided on the inner surface side of the storage container near the good heat conducting plate. 3. A cooling device for cooling a refrigerated storage space and a flow of a circulating cold air flow is reversed between a cooling operation by driving a blower fan for circulating cool air by the cooling and a non-cooling operation. The vegetable compartment configuration of the refrigerator according to claim 1. 4. The vegetable compartment of a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a number of small holes are provided in the good heat conducting plate. 5. A water receiving plate located at a lower end of the good heat conducting plate is formed integrally with the good heat conducting plate.
Vegetable room configuration of the refrigerator described.